Justin Katz

Like There’s Something Better to Do on Friday Nights

By Justin Katz | May 29, 2008 |

For those who wish to devote an hour of their Friday nights to productive, edifying ends, I’ll be on Matt Allen‘s Violent Roundtable again tomorrow night, this time with Tiverton/Little Compton/Portsmouth Republican Representative John Loughlin and Coventry/East Greenwich/Warwich/West Warwick Democrat Senator Leonidas Raptakis.

Random Observations About Last Night

By Justin Katz | May 29, 2008 |

* An older woman was passing jibes to a group of teacher unionists across the aisle from her, and a guidance counselor whose name I’d have to look up, but who is very active and vocal with union matters, brought over one of the policemen on duty to chastise her. I didn’t hear any of…

Meeting on Matt Allen

By Justin Katz | May 29, 2008 |

Monique’s conversation with Matt Allen last night can be streamed by clicking here (or download). They mainly discussed financial town meetings, and Monique teased a very interesting post on state-level nepotism.

Town Financial Meeting, In Summary (How Things Apparently Work)

By Justin Katz | May 29, 2008 |

First off: if I am incorrect in any of the particulars that follow, please correct me. I’ve been playing catch-up, and I’m tired. Last week, a body of 437 Tiverton residents rejected a tax levy of $30,200,000, which exceeded the budget cap by about $2,000,000. Specifically, “by a vote of 255 in favor and 151…

The Tiverton Powers That Be Try Again

By Justin Katz | May 28, 2008 |

Well, my first financial town meeting is about to begin. As if knowingly, the woman at the rapidly moving G-L registration line stamped my admittance arrow to the right. (Or perhaps it was a sly political statement from her perspective.) If you’re coming, wear your walking shoes: Of course, you get to go right by…

What’s a Marriage Argument All About?

By Justin Katz | May 28, 2008 |

The push for same-sex marriage must surely rank highly in recent history among movements that have doggedly ignored the opposition’s core objection, and last Thursday’s Providence Journal opinion pages encapsulate that myopia nicely. First, an editorial: … Gays who wed [in California] will help accustom others to this quiet revolution — chiefly by demonstrating that…

Pulling on the Hands Reaching Out

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2008 |

We just received a call from Tiverton Schools Superintendent William Rearick (or, more likely, a recording) encouraging us, as parents in the town, to attend tomorrow night’s financial town meeting in order to vote for the 11% increase in taxes so that the district won’t have to tighten its belt anymore. A related Projo article…

A Profile in Bureaucratic Spending

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2008 |

There’s something emblematic about states’ attempts to tweak homeland security programs in order to apply federal dollars to tangential matters: More openly than at any time since the Sept. 11 attacks, state and local authorities have begun to complain that the federal financing for domestic security is being too closely tied to combating potential terrorist…

The Injury Lottery

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2008 |

The Projo headline should have been “Murder case could threaten ex-officers’ pensions,” because it shouldn’t take the manifest ability of killing another human being to correct this clear fleecing of the public: Gianquitti has been collecting an accidental disability pension since 1993, retiring at 24 after six months as a patrolman for the Providence Police…

Election Season Ramping Up

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2008 |

The likelihood that Rhode Island will move in the right direction over the next few years will become increasingly apparent as the election season ramps up. If the right kinds of candidates run, and if they can get some traction, then perhaps (just perhaps) the worst can be avoided. One candidate to watch will be…